Jesus & President Bartlet

Psalm 145… a bit more

Last night at the Bible Hour we thought on the call to look above and beyond this world’s power and grandeur to the far greater majesty of God’s Kingdom and God the King. We mentioned the need to imagine these things and how imagination was a crucial part of faith – not imagination in a fictional or airy-fairy sense but imagining a reality that we have yet to see with our own eyes. This is what David does in Ps 145 – had David seen the Kingdom of God that he describes as glorious and splendid. No, there is no mention in the Bible of him being caught up into heaven or even having the sort of visions experienced by Ezekiel, but he imagines it.

So we challenged ourselves to imagine with the ‘eye of faith’ our King and His Kingdom which leaves all this world’s pomp and achievement looking very second rate. But here’s a thought on the back of all that - I’m currently feeling a little bereft as the one programme I made a point of watching most weeks has now had its last ever episode – ‘The West Wing’. ‘The West Wing’ bristled with an atmosphere of power and importance. It was peppered with high powered discussions, motorcades, crisps shirts and immaculately pressed ties. President Bartlett oozed authority as he strode the epicentre of global military and political might. All that was part of The West Wing’s allure, it gave the programme an intoxicating quality, it’s message – ‘it doesn’t get any more important that this!’

But last night we were challenged to imagine a greater ruler and a more impressive setting – and perhaps we struggle to imagine in our minds a Jesus who looks quite as impressive. The problem is that the image of Jesus so often imbedded in our minds is, let’s be honest, the long-haired hippy character of musicals and children’s books. Not surprisingly putting that type of kaftan-wearing doe-eyed figure alongside the alpha-males of world power never quite excites us in the same way. Now don’t misunderstand my point – I’m not suggesting we need to imagine Jesus in a suit or in a motorcade to grasp His greatness. Nor am I suggesting we think less on his qualities of compassion and gentleness. However we need to recapture, I think, just how impressive a man Jesus must have been. A man who exuded authority, charisma, wisdom, fearlessness and leadership. The apostle Peter was clearly a ‘man’s man’, a bloke, someone who did physical work and wasn’t shy of a fight. I don’t think Peter would have been bowled over and captivated, as he clearly was, by some reedy, flower waving beatnik. The Jesus of the New Testament impressed people, was charismatic, bold, in control, someone admired but also feared. In short He was formidable. I reckon that if you were going to meet Jesus for the first time you would have butterflies in your stomach and when you shook His hand your heart would skip a beat. Our King commands the room, sets the agenda and has the last word. Now imagine being part of His plans.